The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 136

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 136

Richard recited the incantation while recalling the reason he had decided to become a holy knight.

The title and domain of a noble house all belong to the heir, usually the eldest. Other children inherit some wealth and become independent, or marry with a dowry.

Around age 10, Richard learned that his older brother was the heir who would inherit everything of Raskail. He also learned that as the second son, he would have to find his own way in life.

Though he didn’t get along well with his brother, he had known of his brother’s excellence from a very young age. Despite their constant quarrels, he secretly respected his dignified and exemplary older brother.

Leonhardt also truly cherished Richard. He would yield many things to his younger brother and meticulously take care of his brother’s shortcomings.

Richard knew well. That if it were his brother Leonhardt, he would take responsibility for him for life even if he became a wastrel. That with Raskail’s wealth, one person living carelessly wouldn’t even make a dent.

But the boy didn’t want to live so thoughtlessly. He wanted to become someone his family could be proud of, not ashamed of.

He also didn’t want to marry the heir of another house and live as someone’s spouse. He hated the idea of leaving Raskail to become part of another family.

But he had no desire to compete with his brother or steal his brother’s share. He loved his brother and family too much for that.

The boy simply wanted to live not as someone’s younger brother or husband, but under his own name, under the name of Raskail. It was his innate pride.

Fortunately, he had talent. Even if he fell short of his brother in every other aspect, in swordsmanship alone, he overwhelmed Leonhardt.

‘I’ll become a knight.’

He made that decision at age 10. Then while training hard and studying about knights, he received a shock.

‘If I become another house’s knight, I have to be loyal to that house?’

If he became a royal knight, he would have to be loyal to the emperor. If he joined a regional defense knight order, he would have to bury his bones in that region.

Wherever they belonged, knights had to prioritize their affiliation over their origins. That was the knight’s oath.

But Richard wanted to live with his family and Raskail as his top priority.

‘But becoming our family’s knight… that wouldn’t be much different from just living off allowance from my brother for life.’

While pondering this, the boy one day read the biography of Saint Nicholas.

A holy knight who wandered the continent preaching God’s mercy and accumulating countless achievements. A hero who was canonized as a saint after protecting his homeland from monsters and dying a martyr’s death.

‘This is it!’

Shadea’s holy knights could freely go on pilgrimages after serving a certain period in the holy knight order, and could even be dispatched to temples in their hometowns.

Richard imagined himself as a famous holy knight. He imagined returning home in silver-white armor after going on pilgrimage and achieving great deeds, protecting the temple in Raskail City.

He imagined hearing his brother’s admiration and his parents’ praise for his accomplishments, imagined discussing business as equals with his brother as the temple’s representative holy knight, and imagined living his entire life in this land protecting the Raskail domain.

He imagined being canonized as a saint through noble sacrifice like Saint Nicholas, so that children of Raskail would read his biography in the future.

‘How wonderful…’

Thus the boy harbored his dream.

His faith deepened some time after that.

The night he heard that youngest Lillieta, who had fallen gravely ill with fever, might not make it through the night, and he prayed all night for the first time.

‘O God who watches over us, please let Lili wake up safely tomorrow morning. Please. Show us your mercy. If only that child wakes up safely, I will devote my life to you.’

When Lili, who had been delirious all night, miraculously got up as the morning sun rose and smiled weakly at him, when he clasped her sweat-soaked hand, when he saw his parents weeping with gratitude to God, Richard came to believe in and serve God’s miracles and mercy.

Looking back like this, both his decision to become a holy knight and his decision to devote himself to God were all for his family.

He became the youngest official holy knight because his sister went missing, and he abandoned that hard-achieved dream to become a wreck because he received an oracle that his sister’s disappearance was his fault.

Therefore, for his one and only sister, for Lillieta whom he couldn’t save that night, he could easily abandon goals he had originally harbored for his family.

Because neither faith nor dreams were more precious than family. Because the power to protect his family was more important than the status and position of a holy knight.

So corruption is merely a catalyst. This would have happened eventually anyway.

With that conviction, a voice carrying a strange resonance flowed from him.

“〈I shall always be a sword that protects my family.〉”

As Oaths gathered, his red hair fluttered and light dwelt in his violet eyes that resembled Lillieta’s.

“〈I swear in the name of Richard del Nisa Raskail.〉”

Rita was surprised by the content of that oath and opened her mouth slightly before quickly closing it. It was somewhat unexpected, but it was a vow that suited him perfectly.

Richard’s entire body was swept up and dyed in a pale violet light close to white. As he accepted the Oaths, the corruption spreading from his forearm was burned away.

Gathering the light with his breath, he looked down at his sister still held in his arms. He smiled mischievously like a boy and asked.

“Hey, I succeeded, right?”

“Yes, dodge!”

The Mimic, startled by the white flames on its roots, tried to trample them.

At Rita’s shout, Richard quickly ran. While avoiding the shadow falling over his head, he drew his sword with one hand and swung it.

Pale violet Oaths rippled along the blade and shot out following his swinging motion.

It was sword energy. It carved through the eyeballs covering near the Mimic’s roots, leaving long wounds.

Groooooh—

The Mimic roared in fury. Richard shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Rita.

“What? I thought making an oath would change everything dramatically, but there’s not much difference?”

“That means you’re an augmentation type, brother. Augmentation Pact Holders aren’t much different from aura users.”

“Ah, right, that’s how it was? I’m an augmentation type.”

Richard chuckled and recalled the explanation he had heard from Lillieta when discussing strategy.

“Oaths are energy of nature itself. Aura is the result of absorbing that, transforming it into a form that suits you, digesting it, and storing it layer by layer in your body.”

“All knights accumulate aura through breathing, right? That’s exactly the process of converting Oaths into aura and gathering them. It’s essentially the same act as mages gathering mana through meditation.”

“Pure Oaths feel more free-spirited and rough compared to transformed aura, so they won’t be easy to control. If they don’t suit your constitution, they can harm your own body. But they’re that much more active and move well too. With the effort to draw up a fingernail’s worth of aura, a fist-sized amount of Oaths will move.”

“Now, Hanna, listen too. The knack for Oathbinders to handle such Oaths is…”

Even while giving that explanation, Lillieta hadn’t revealed the truth about God’s identity to him. It was too shocking a fact to tell her deeply faithful brother before battle.

Richard recalled Lillieta’s advice about Oaths and lightly clenched and opened his hand. Instead of aura, Oaths that filled his body rippled at his fingertips.

The Mimic growled and tried to trample them. Easily avoiding it with his enhanced legs, he instantly became accustomed to Oaths.

“Rita.”

He whispered in a low voice.

“It seems I’ve avoided what you were worried about—becoming powerless by awakening to a different type. With this much, I can move almost the same as before. I should be able to fight the demon beast directly too. How about it, what should I do now?”

They had anticipated this situation. If Richard made an oath during battle due to unavoidable circumstances but luckily awakened as an augmentation type and immediately became a fighting force.

“Shield role, can you handle it?”

“I’ll have to try.”

Richard grinned and set Lillieta down. Rita drew up Oaths to process them and called Hanna.

“Hanna, tell Lindsey she’s in charge of flare rounds.”

[Yes!]

She stuck the elongated processed Oaths into the ground. Six lightning rod-shaped Oaths were stuck in a row around her.

‘The training I’ve done helps.’

This kind of form processing would have been impossible before. Maintaining the processed Oaths, she gripped the magic gun with both hands. The barrel began to slowly turn golden.

‘Twilight is… difficult with this gun due to output limitations. I could force it if I push myself, but that wouldn’t be optimal.’

Richard, standing in front of her, cut down the pouring thorns and giant roots with his sword imbued with pale violet Oaths. Lacking practical experience against demon beasts, he couldn’t perfectly block the bizarre attacks, and his armor was getting dented in various places.

Though anxious, instead of helping by shooting defensive rounds, she decided to trust him.

She felt the shadow beneath her feet writhing. This time too, Rita trusted Lindsey instead of shooting flare rounds and concentrated on the technique she was preparing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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